JP3384745B2 - Apparatus and method for quickly returning to a network page in a hierarchy of internet web pages - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to improved browser devices and methods. In particular, the present invention relates generally to information processing systems.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Computerized information resources such as the "Internet" allow users to link to servers and networks and thus retrieve vast amounts of electronic information previously unavailable on electronic media. can do. Such electronic information is replacing conventional information transmission means such as newspapers, magazines, and even televisions. The term "Internet" is an abbreviation for "Internetwork" and generally refers to a collection of computer networks using the TCP / IP protocol known in the computer network arts. TCP / IP is an acronym for "Transport Control Protocol / Interface Program" and is a software protocol developed by the US Department of Defense for communication between computers.

Electronic information transmitted between computer networks (eg, the Internet) can be provided to users in hypertext. Hypertext is a complex association of text, images, sounds, and actions that are linked together to allow users to "browse" related topics regardless of the order in which those topics were presented. It is a metaphor of information provision that is a sequential web. These links are often established by both the author and the user of the hypertext document, depending on the intent of the hypertext document. For example, a user may follow a link to the word "iron" in an article displayed within the graphical user interface of a computer system, and the periodic table of chemical elements (or the word "iron"). Linked to), which leads to a reference showing the use of iron in dark age European weapons. The term "hypertext" is used to describe a computer-presented document that represents a non-linear structure of a concept rather than a linear form such as a book, movie, or lecture.

In particular, interactive hypertext, in which the selection is controlled by the user, is a work or learning environment that resembles human thinking, that is, the user may move from one topic to the next as an alphabetical list. It is built around the concept of providing an environment that allows you to create associations between topics rather than moving sequentially. Hypertext topics are linked in such a way that the user can jump from one topic to another related topic while searching for information.

Network systems using hypertext rules follow a client / server architecture. A "client" is a member of a class or group that uses the services of another unrelated class or group. In a computer network such as the Internet, a client is a process (or, broadly speaking, a program or task) that requests a service provided by another program. The client process is
Utilize the requested service without having to “know” any functional details about the other program or the service itself. In networked systems, clients are typically computers that access shared network resources provided by other computers (ie, servers).

A "server" is generally a remote computer system accessible via a communication medium such as the Internet. The server scans and searches for raw (eg, unprocessed) sources (eg, newswire feeds or newsgroups). When the server responds to the client process, the server provides the user with the screened electronic information based on such a request by the user. The client process and the server process may each be active on different computer systems and communicate with each other via a communication medium that enables multiple clients to utilize the information gathering capabilities of the server.

Clients and servers can communicate with each other using the facilities provided by Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The World Wide Web (WWW), or simply the "Web," includes all servers that comply with this protocol, to which clients have Universal Resource Locators (URs).
L) can be accessed. Internet services can be accessed by specifying a universal resource locator that has two basic components: the protocol to use and the object pathname. For example, "http: // www
w. uspto. The universal resource locator address "gov" (ie, the US Patent and Trademark Office home page) is a hypertext transfer protocol ("http") and server pathname ("www.usp").
to. "gov") is specified. The server name is associated with a unique numerical value (TCP / IP address). A first process, called the "browser", is active in the client, establishing a connection with the server and presenting information to the user. The server itself is HTTP
Executes corresponding server software that provides information to the client in the form of a response. The HTTP response corresponds to a "web page" or other server-generated data written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

A "web page" (sometimes referred to by some designers simply as a "page") is a data file written in a hypertext language that includes text, graphic images, and It can even be equipped with multimedia objects such as recordings and animated video clips. Web pages can be displayed as visible objects within a computer system. Visible objects can include one or more components such as spreadsheets, text, hotlinks, images, audio, and video objects. Web pages can be created by loading one or more separate files into an active directory or file structure,
It is then displayed as a visible object in the graphical user interface.

When a client workstation sends a request for a web page to a server, the server first sends the main hypertext file (at least a portion of it) associated with the page and then the page. Load other files sequentially or simultaneously. T
A given file can be sent as several separate pieces via the CP / IP protocol. The constructed page is then displayed as a visible object on the workstation monitor. The page may be "larger" than the physical size of the monitor screen, and the display software (or browser) may be graphical user
Various parts of the page can be displayed using means such as a scroll bar on the interface.

Browsers generally incorporate or rely on some form of Internet search engine that enables users to perform Internet searches. Such search engines may return an index page of hypertext links (also referred to simply as "links") to other web pages in response to user entered search criteria. The search criteria are generally supplied by the user to the search engine in the form of keywords. For example, a user who wants to search the Internet for the topic "kidney transplant" might search for "medical",
Enter keywords (ie search criteria) such as “surgery”, “transplant”, “kidney”, and “organ”. The search engine will then return an index page containing many hypertext links that are at least commonly associated with the topic "kidney transplant."

A problem with this type of Internet search is that when a user searches for links from an index page, the user may reach a few pages deep within the hierarchy of web pages. To return to the index page, the user has to manually go back through all intermediate pages or search in the history list provided by the browser. Manually returning through intermediate pages or searching such history lists in this way is a time consuming process and can be error prone. For example, a user may inadvertently access unwanted links while searching the history list.

From the above, the user can manually
It will be appreciated that there is a need for a method and system that enables index page information to be obtained without having to go back through each web page included in the page hierarchy. If there is a mechanism to solve this problem, the user can
You will save time and effort searching the site.

[0013]

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved browser device and method.

Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide an improved browser search engine that allows a user to quickly return to a previously displayed network page from the currently displayed network page. Is.

[0015]

The above and other objects are achieved as described below. Computer·
An apparatus and method in a network navigator for quickly returning to a search engine network page during a search of a hierarchy of network pages displayed in a system interface. First, a list of commonly used search engine network addresses is organized. Next, navigate to Network
Configure a hierarchy of network addresses accessed by the Network Navigator during the session. afterwards,
Until the network address corresponding to the search engine network address listed in the list of commonly used search engine network addresses is identified in the hierarchy of network addresses,
Scan the hierarchy of network addresses. Finally, the network navigator jumps to the network address corresponding to that search engine network address. In addition, until the network address corresponding to the network address associated with a server other than the server associated with the network page currently displayed in the computer interface is identified in the hierarchy of network addresses. The hierarchy of network addresses can be traversed, after which the network navigator jumps to the network address associated with a server other than the server associated with the network page currently displayed in the computer interface.

[0016]

1 is a block diagram of a computer system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Shown is a computer system 20 that includes a system unit 22, a video display terminal 24, a keyboard 26, and a mouse 28.
Computer system 20 is any suitable computer such as an AS / 400 computer system or an IBM "Aptive" computer, both products of International Business Machines Corporation of Armonk, NY, USA. Can be realized. However, the features and apparatus of the present invention apply equally to any computer system, whether the computer system is a complex multi-user computer device or a single-user workstation. 1 and 2, like parts are designated by like reference numbers.

FIG. 2 illustrates representative hardware of the computer system of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Computer system 20 includes a central processing unit (“CPU”) 31, such as a conventional microprocessor, and some other device interconnected via a system bus 32. Such components and devices of computer system 20 may be implemented within a system unit such as system unit 22 of FIG. The computer system 20 also includes a random
Access memory (“RAM”) 34, read only memory (“ROM”) 36, display adapter 37 connecting system bus 32 to video display terminal 24, peripherals (eg, disk drive and tape drive 33). Also included is an input / output (I / O) adapter 39 for connecting the I.O.

Video display terminal 24 is the visible output device of computer system 20. Video display terminal 24
C is well known in the technical field of computer hardware.
It can be a video display device using RT. But on a portable or notebook computer,
The video display terminal 24 can be replaced with a flat panel display using LCD or plasma. The computer system 20 further includes a keyboard 26, a mouse 28, a speaker 46, a microphone 48.
And a user interface adapter 40 for connecting other user interface devices such as a touch screen device (not shown) to the system bus 32. Communication adapter 49 connects computer system 20 to a computer network. Although computer system 20 is illustrated as including only one CPU and one system bus, the invention is not limited to computer systems having multiple CPUs and multiple CPUs that each perform different functions in different ways. It should be understood that it applies equally to computer systems having buses.

Computer system 20 also includes interfaces in the machine-readable medium that direct the operation of computer system 20. This interface is
RAM34, ROM36, magnetic diskette, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc. (the last three are disk / tape,
It may be held by any suitable machine-readable medium (enclosed in drive 33). CPU3 by any suitable operating system and associated interface (eg Microsoft Windows)
You can give instructions to 1. For example, the CPU 31 can be instructed by the AIX operating system and the AIXwindows windowing system. The AIX operating system
It is an IBM embodiment of the UNIX operating system. UNIX is a trademark of UNIX Systems Laboratories, Inc. Other techniques such as touch screen and human voice control are also CPU
It can be used with 31. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted in Figure 2 may vary depending on the particular application. Other peripherals, such as optical disk media, audio adapters, chip programming devices such as PAL and EPROM programming devices, well known in the computer hardware arts, in addition to the hardware already shown. , Or alternatively, can be used.

The main memory 50 is the system bus 32.
, Which contains the control program 51. Control program 51 resides in main memory 50 and contains instructions that, when executed on CPU 31, perform the operations illustrated in the logical flow charts of FIGS. 7 and 8 described herein. This computer program product may also be called a program product. The control program 51 is shown to further include an icon mechanism 53, a hierarchy mechanism 55, a scanning mechanism 57, a transfer mechanism 59, and an organization (compile) mechanism 61, each of which will be described in detail in the description related to FIG. .

Although the present invention is described herein by taking a full-function computer system as an example, those skilled in the art can distribute the present invention as various forms of program products, and the present invention does not do so. It is important to note that it applies equally regardless of the particular signal carrying medium used to do this. Examples of signal bearing media include recordable media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CD ROMs, and transmission media such as digital and analog communication links.

In FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, like parts are designated by like numbers. FIG. 3 shows a block diagram illustrating a client / server architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, a user request 91 for news is sent from the client application program 92 to the server 88.
The server 88 may be a remote computer system accessible via the Internet or other communication network. The client application program 92 can be used with the computer system 20 shown in FIGS. The server 88 scans and searches raw (eg, raw) sources (eg, newswire feeds or newsgroups) based on user requests, and sifts the electronic information into a client response as a server response 93.
Present to the process.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed block diagram of the client / server architecture according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The client and server are processes that can run in two computer systems, and these two processes are high-level programming languages (eg PE
RL) and is interpreted and executed at runtime by a computer system (eg, workstation), but those skilled in the art will understand that these processes can be implemented on a variety of hardware devices, both programmable and dedicated devices. You can see that you can.

Client 92 and server 88 are HTTP
Communicate using the functions provided by. Within the client 92, the first process, the browser 72, is active, establishing a connection with the server 88 and presenting information to the user. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, any number of commercially available or publicly available browsers may be used. For example, National Center for, Urbana-Champain, Illinois, USA
Supercomputing Applicatio
A Mosaic brand browser provided by ns (NCSA) can be used according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Other browsers such as Netscape ^™ also have the functions specified by HTTP. "Nets
"cape" is a trademark of Netscape Corporation.

The server 88 executes the corresponding server software. Server software uses HTTP response 9
Presents information to the client in the form of 0. The HTTP response 90 is a web page expressed using HTML,
Or correspond to other data generated by the server 88. The server 88 comprises HTML 94. Certain browsers, such as the Mosaic branded browsers described herein, also include a common gateway interface (CGI) 96, which is designated as a client program contained within server 88 relative to server 88. Allows you to instruct the program to start running. This may include a search engine that scans the information received at the server for presentation to the user controlling the client. Using this interface and the HTTP response 90, the server can notify the client of the execution result when the execution is completed. Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
96 is a form of gateway, which is a device used to connect to heterogeneous networks (ie, networks that use different communication protocols) and allow electronic information to be passed from one network to another. is there. The gateway uses the second electronic information.
The network converts and transfers to a format compatible with the protocol used for transmission and distribution.

To control the parameters of the execution of this server-resident process, the client can instruct the browser to fill in a particular "form". This is done by the "fill-in form" (ie, form 98) that some browsers include, such as the Mosaic branded browsers described herein. This feature allows the user, via the client application program, to specify terms (eg, terms or keywords contained in articles of the type that the user is interested in) on which the server causes the application program to function. This feature is included as part of the search engine.

FIG. 5 is a computer network 80 which can be implemented in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. Computer network 80 is a representation of the Internet and can be referred to as a well-known computer network based on the client-server model described herein. Conceptually, the Internet is a client 92, typically a user of a personal computer, that has some private Internet access provider 84 (eg, Internet America) or online service provider 86 (eg, Ameri).
ca On-Line, Prodigy, Compus
Includes a large network of servers 88 that can be accessed via the Internet. Each client 92 can run a browser to access the server 88 via an access provider. Each server 88 runs a so-called "web site" that supports files in the form of documents and pages. The network path to the server 88 is identified by a universal resource locator having a known syntax that defines a collection of networks.

FIG. 6 illustrates a graphical user interface usable by the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
An example of a hypertext document 123 contained in the window 104 is shown. In the window 104, a part of the visible object (that is, the hypertext document 123) created in the markup language is displayed. One such markup language usable by the example shown in FIG. 6 is the Hypertext Markup Language (HTM).
L). Elevator 1 in scroll bar 116
The size and position of 20 corresponds to the size and position of the current visible page for the hypertext document 123. The hypertext document 123 can be accessed from a computer system included in a computer network such as the Internet.

In the example of FIG. 6, the hypertext document 12
Since 3 contains too many pages to be displayed simultaneously, the user must position the mouse cursor over the up arrow portion 106 or the down arrow portion 108 in the scroll bar 116 and point to a pointing device (eg mouse). ), And click Hypertext Document 1
23 can be scrolled up or down accordingly. Horizontal scroll bar 118 includes arrow portion 112 and arrow portion 110 that scroll hypertext document 123 to the left or right, respectively. Also, the optional arrow portion 114 allows the user to scroll the document to the right. Therefore, the window 104 and the hypertext document 12
The graphical user interface, including 3, allows the user to select commands by launching a program, start a program, and view a list of files and other options by pointing to a picture (ie, icon) or list of menu items on the screen. It is one type of computer display format that allows. Selection can generally be done using a keyboard or mouse.

Hypertext document 123 contains specific string text 124 that is shown on the screen to stand out from the surrounding text. The string text 124 is represented in different formats. In the example of FIG. 6, the string text 124 is represented as IBM (actually italic). String text 12
The four different font formats are indicators that the text is hyperlinked to "jump" to another document. When the user clicks on the string text 124 using a mouse or other pointing device, the graphical user interface moves from the currently displayed hypertext document 123 to another hyperlinked document.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart 130 showing certain steps that may be used to implement the apparatus and method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. First, as shown in block 131, Yahoo and A
A list of commonly used search engines such as lta Vista is organized. As described in block 132, an organized list of commonly used search engines is placed and maintained in a directory that a given browser can access. Such a list of commonly used search engines contains a universal resource locator (or network address), each corresponding to each search engine location within a given network. First, block 13
The browser is loaded into the graphical user interface working directory as shown in FIG. An Internet web navigation session is conducted, as indicated at block 140. Such a navigation session takes the form of a search performed on a search engine. For example, when a user searches using a search engine, the search function of the search engine returns an index page of links that match the user's search criteria. When the user searches for links from this page and begins to "navigate" the Web, they may find themselves a few pages deep within the hierarchy of pages. Such a navigation session begins when the user first accesses the browser and ends when the browser is closed.

As shown in block 142, a table of universal resource locators for the n sites visited during the navigation session is organized from the data contained within the browser. For example, the browser functionality may maintain an internal list of previously visited sites during a typical browser navigation session. Such a table may include a one or two word brief description of the particular site. When the user hovers the cursor over each one or two word description, that particular 1
A universal resource locator corresponding to the word or two-word description is typically displayed somewhere within the user's browser interface. The Universal Resource Locator table can be organized from this list.

The table of organized universal resource locators is sequentially scanned backward, as indicated by block 144. Each universal resource locator is scanned, one at a time, and compared to an organized list of commonly used search engines, as indicated at block 146. Universal, organized as shown in block 146
Universal resource in the resource locator table
Ask if the locator matches the search engine universal resource locator listed in the list of organized commonly used search engines. If the question asked at block 146 is answered in the negative, the process retries traversing the organized list to find the desired server, as shown at block 150, and the next universal resource locator. Find out.
If no such server is identified after n attempts, the process ends. But block 1
If the question asked in 46 is answered in the affirmative, block 14
As shown at 8, the browser "jumps" to the site where the desired server was found (ie, the search engine site). The above process steps can be invoked using the browser tool bar or menu.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart 160 showing the general steps used to implement the apparatus and method of the present invention in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Block 16
As shown in 2, the browser is first loaded into the working directory of the graphical user interface.
After launching the hypertext link, the web page is loaded into the browser, as shown in block 164. As shown in block 166, a table of universal resource locators (ie, network addresses) for the last n visited sites is organized from the data maintained in the network navigator or browser. For example, browser features may include an internal list of previously visited sites. The Universal Resource Locator table can be organized from this list. As shown in block 168, the server associated with the current web page is recorded for later comparison operations.

The table of organized universal resource locators is sequentially scanned backward, as indicated by block 170. As shown in block 172, query whether any servers other than the server associated with the current web page are in the organized Universal Resource Locator table. If the question asked in block 172 is answered in the negative, the process, as shown in block 176,
Retry traversing the organized list to find the desired server and look up the next universal resource locator. If no such server is identified after n attempts, the process ends. However, if the question asked at block 172 is answered in the affirmative, then the browser “jumps” to the site where the desired server was found, as shown at block 174. The above process steps can be invoked using the browser tool bar or menu.

FIG. 9 illustrates a network navigator device 190 that can be used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
The block diagram of is shown. Network navigator device 1
90 includes a control program 192, and the control program 1
An icon mechanism 194, a scanning mechanism 196, a hierarchy mechanism 202, a knitting mechanism 204, and a transfer mechanism 206 are connected to the numeral 92. The network navigator device 190 illustrated in FIG. 9 implements the method illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. The network navigator device 190
It consists of a number of mechanisms within a computer memory such as the main memory 50 shown in FIG. 2, which are executed by a computer processor such as the CPU 31 shown in FIG. Therefore, in particular in FIG.
Illustrative components of navigator device 190 are shown. The components shown in FIG. 9 are included in the control program 51 as shown in FIG.

The icon mechanism 194 is a component of the network navigator device 190 and displays icons in a graphical user interface. The icon indicates the scanning mechanism when selected by the user. The scanning mechanism 196 is a mechanism for searching a list or table of network addresses. The scanning mechanism 196 includes a hierarchy of network addresses (eg, a list of universal resource locators) whose network addresses correspond to search engine network addresses listed in the list of commonly used search engine network addresses. A first network address scanning mechanism 200 may be included for scanning the hierarchy of network addresses until specified in. Scanning mechanism 1
96 further includes a network address corresponding to a network address associated with a server other than the server associated with the network page currently displayed in the graphical user interface in which the browser or network navigator application is displayed. A second network address scanning mechanism 198 may be included to search the hierarchy of network addresses until the address is identified in the hierarchy of network addresses.

Hierarchy mechanism 202 is a component of network navigator device 190, which organizes a hierarchy of network addresses accessed by a browser or network navigator during a network navigation session. The organizer 204 is a component of the network navigator device 190 that organizes a list of commonly used search engine network addresses. The transfer mechanism 206 is a component of the network navigator device 190 that "jumps" to a target web page or desired network site. The transfer mechanism 206 performs the functions shown in block 148 of FIG. 7 and block 174 of FIG. Therefore, the transfer mechanism 206 has two functions. The first function is to jump to the network address corresponding to the search engine network address listed in the organized list of search engine network addresses. The second function is associated with a server other than the server associated with the network page currently displayed in a graphical user interface within a computer system, such as computer system 20 of FIGS. 1 and 2. It is a function to jump to a network address.

At a higher level, the network navigator device 190 is the current network navigation device.
A user navigating to a network site during a session does not access the network site they encountered between the time they encountered the previously visited network site and the time they encountered the current network site. , A network navigation mechanism (not shown) that allows a quick return from a current network site (eg, the currently displayed web page) to a previously visited network site during a current network navigation session. No.) can be said to constitute. The system may also include a storage mechanism (not shown) that stores the network address sites encountered during the current network navigation session. The network navigator device 190 works best when it encounters at least one intermediate network site before encountering the current network site and after encountering the previously visited network site.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the steps used to implement the icon mechanism according to the preferred embodiment.
30 is illustrated. As indicated at block 232, the process of implementing the icon mechanism begins. The icon mechanism controls the icon within the graphical user interface and causes the icon to provide a scanning mechanism in response to user selection of the icon. Block 234
Pressing a button (or icon) triggers a graphical user interface event, as shown in FIG. From the point of view of a graphical user interface, an event is the occurrence of a significant event for a task. For example, user input from a computer keyboard data entry key or pointing device can trigger events such as scrolling or saving a particular file. A check is made to determine if the button was actually pressed, as described in block 236.

If the test is positive and it is determined that the button was actually pressed, then the scanning mechanism is triggered and the process described with respect to FIG. 13 is performed, as shown in block 240. If the result of the check is negative and it is determined that the button is not actually pressed, then a second determination is made as to whether the browser should be updated with the information needed to initiate the icon mechanism, as shown in block 238. The inspection is done. Such information can include the protocols required to communicate between the graphical user interface and the browser, or between the browser and computer hardware. Such update information is left to the discretion of the browser designer who intends to implement the present invention. If it is determined that the browser needs to be updated, then the browser is updated, as shown in block 242. If it is determined that the browser does not need to be updated, the graphical user interface in which the browser containing the icon that initiates the icon mechanism is displayed, as indicated by block 244, causes the process of logical operations to proceed normally. Continue and allow the browser user to move on to other browser tasks.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow chart 250 showing the steps used to implement the knitting mechanism according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in block 246,
The process of executing the logical steps of the knitting mechanism is initiated. As shown in block 252, the organize event is processed to assemble a list of common search engine sites including the corresponding universal resource locators. A check is made to determine if the list is complete, as shown in block 254. If the list is not complete, a question is asked to determine if the list should be updated, as shown in block 256. If this question is answered in the affirmative, then a search engine is added to the list, as shown in block 257, and the process continues normally, as shown in block 252. However, if the answer to this question is no, then the list is placed in the browser cache or memory for later retrieval by the browser, as shown at block 258. Even if the list is complete as checked at block 254, the list is still cached in the browser cache and can be retrieved and used during later logical processing operations. As shown in block 260, the organized list can be moved or copied from the browser cache to the active directory. Such an Active Directory can be shared by other mechanisms and components described herein. As shown in block 261, the information stored in the Active Directory (ie, the organized list of search engines) is sent to the scanning mechanism. Finally, as indicated by block 262, the logical process of implementing the knitting mechanism ends.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow chart 270 of steps used to implement the hierarchy mechanism in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in block 272, the process of initiating a hierarchy mechanism is initiated. The hierarchy mechanism organizes the hierarchy of network addresses accessed during a network navigation session. Each network site accessed during a navigation session using a browser has an associated network address (ie, Universal Resource Locator)
Have. Each network address or URL accessed during the navigation session is maintained within the hierarchy of network addresses. network·
Address hierarchies are arranged in a stack. When a new network or website is encountered, the network address associated with each new site is added sequentially to this stack. That is, the most recently encountered site is added to the top or bottom of the stack, as desired by the browser designer. For example, a browser designer implementing the present invention may add each new network address to the top of such a stack each time a new network is encountered. Therefore,
The hierarchical mechanism does not play the role of sorter. The hierarchical mechanism simply adds a new network address to the stack each time a new web or network site is encountered.

A hierarchical event is fired, as shown in block 274, and then as shown in block 276.
Ask if you want to organize the hierarchy. If the question is answered in the negative, normal graphical user interface operations are performed as indicated at block 278.
If the question is answered in the affirmative, then a check is made, as shown in block 280, to determine if the first to Nth items in the hierarchy are aligned. If the question is answered in the affirmative, a check to determine if the Nth item (ie, URL) is contained within the hierarchy of network addresses accessed during the current network navigation session, as shown in block 282. Is done. The Nth URL is equal to the network address of the currently displayed network or website.

If this check indicates that the Nth item is not included in the list, as shown in block 282, then an additional check is made as shown in block 284 to determine the new URL (ie, network address). ) Should be associated with a network address in the hierarchy of organized network addresses. If the check at block 284 indicates that a new URL should be associated with the network address, then the process is repeated as indicated at block 280. However, if no new URL is found, the process ends and the hierarchy mechanism needs to be restarted. If the answer in block 280 is no, then the hierarchy of network addresses is updated for use by the scanning mechanism, as shown in block 286. Block 2
As a result of the test at 82, even if the Nth URL is identified and included in the hierarchy of network addresses,
The operation shown in block 286 is performed. The process finally ends as indicated by block 288.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow chart 290 showing the steps used to implement the scanning mechanism in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As indicated by block 292, the process of implementing the scanning mechanism begins. A scan event occurs as shown in block 294. The scan event examines the hierarchy of network addresses, compares them to a list of commonly used search engines, and checks for network addresses of servers other than the one that provided the currently displayed document. It is an event. The hierarchy of network addresses can be built in a stack. When a browser encounters a new web site via a hypertext link, the universal resource locator representing each web site will display the universal resource locators that the browser previously visited during that particular network navigation session. Added to stack of locators. The stack of universal resource locators (ie network addresses) can be arranged top to bottom or bottom to top. Again, the choice is left to the browser designer or "plug-in" or browser add-on feature designer who can implement the invention.

Accordingly, as shown in block 296, a check is made to determine if the stack (ie, the hierarchy of network addresses) is empty. If the stack is empty, as indicated at block 296, then the hierarchical data (ie, universal resource locator) is not available, and as indicated at block 298, the hierarchical mechanism described herein is triggered, Each new universal resource that the browser encounters during a given network navigation session.
The locator is put on the stack. If the stack is empty, the process is restarted and proceeds until a stack with at least one universal resource locator available for scanning is formed, as described in the steps illustrated in FIG. Absent. If the data is available and ready to be processed, then a check is made to determine whether to initiate the first scanning mechanism, as described in block 300. The first scanning mechanism performs the events of the flow chart outlined in FIG. 7, where the hierarchy of network addresses is compared to a list of popular search engines. As indicated by block 302, the first scanning mechanism is triggered. If the desired data is identified (ie, the search engine network address is identified within the hierarchy of network addresses), block 30 as shown in block 304.
The transfer mechanism is triggered, as shown at 6, causing the browser to "jump" to the web site or web page associated with the specified network address.

If, as shown in block 300, one chooses not to implement the first scanning mechanism, block 308.
A check is made to determine if a second scanning mechanism should be implemented, as shown in FIG. If the second scanning mechanism is not implemented, then the process simply ends, as indicated by block 309. If one chooses to implement the second scanning mechanism,
The second scanning mechanism is triggered as shown in block 310. The second scanning mechanism performs the logical operations outlined in FIG. 8 and is a server other than the server associated with the web page site of the web page currently displayed in the hierarchy of network addresses (ie URLs). To see if it contains your network address. The network address (i.e., URL) contains data that identifies a particular server.

If such a network address has been identified, as shown in block 312, block 3
The transfer mechanism is triggered, as shown at 06, causing the browser to "jump" to a web page on the server that is not associated with the web page currently being displayed. If no such network address is identified, as shown in block 312, then it is determined, as shown in block 318, whether to make another attempt to find the desired web site or terminate the process. . If it decides to end the process, block 320.
The process ends as shown in. If it decides to make another attempt, the process begins again, as indicated by block 292. Further, at block 304 of FIG. 13, it may also be determined whether to implement the second scanning mechanism in addition to the first scanning mechanism. A generic search engine desired network
If the address data is not specified within the hierarchy of network address data, the second scanning mechanism is triggered, as indicated at block 310, and the process continues accordingly.

FIG. 14 illustrates a flow chart 330 showing the steps for implementing the transfer mechanism according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in block 332, the logical step of implementing the forwarding mechanism begins. The transfer mechanism is a component of the browser (ie, the network navigator) that allows the user to access the hypertext file as shown in FIG.
Allows you to "jump" to different web pages via links. A transfer event is performed, as indicated by block 334. As indicated by block 336, the desired network address (ie, UR
A test is performed to determine if L) has been identified.
The desired network address is block 3 in FIG.
The network address specified as shown at 04 or 312. If the network address was not specified, then the scanning mechanism is triggered, as shown in block 338, to implement the operational flow outlined in FIG. If the network address is identified, that information is sent to the browser as shown in block 340. The browser then accesses the new web site associated with the identified network address (ie, URL) via the hypertext link, as shown in block 342.

In summary, the following matters will be disclosed regarding the configuration of the present invention.

(1) A network device that quickly returns to a previously visited network site, the network address encountered during the current navigation session.
A storage mechanism that stores the site and the current navigation
A user who navigates to a network site during a session visits a previously visited network site from the current network site during the current navigation session, the previously visited network site and the current network site A network navigation mechanism that enables quick return without having to access intermediate network sites encountered during. (2) an icon mechanism that provides a network address scanning mechanism in response to user selection, an organization mechanism that organizes a list of commonly used search engines, and a network accessed during the current network navigation session. A hierarchy mechanism for constructing a hierarchy of addresses; a scanning mechanism for scanning the hierarchy until a desired network address corresponding to a search engine network address listed in the list is identified in the hierarchy; A network device according to (1) above, including a transfer mechanism for jumping to a desired network address. (3) The scanning mechanism scans the hierarchy until a network address corresponding to a network address associated with a server other than the server associated with the currently displayed network site is identified in the hierarchy. Wherein the transfer mechanism comprises means for subsequently jumping to the network address associated with the server other than the server associated with the currently displayed network site. The described network device. (4) A program product that resides in computer memory within a computer system, where the network address encountered during the current navigation session
A storage mechanism that stores the site and the current navigation
A user who navigates to a network site during a session visits a network site that was previously visited during the current navigation session from the current network site without accessing intermediate network sites encountered between them. A network navigation mechanism that allows you to return quickly
A signal holding medium that holds the storage mechanism and the network navigation mechanism. (5) An icon mechanism that provides a network address scanning mechanism in response to a user selection, an organization mechanism that organizes a list of commonly used search engines, and a network address accessed during the current navigation session. A hierarchy mechanism that constitutes a hierarchy and a scanning mechanism that scans the hierarchy until a desired network address corresponding to a search engine network address listed in the list is identified in the hierarchy.
(4), further comprising a transfer mechanism for jumping to the desired network address, wherein the signal holding medium further holds the icon mechanism, the organization mechanism, the hierarchy mechanism, the scanning mechanism, and the transfer mechanism. Program product described in. (6) The scanning mechanism scans the hierarchy until a network address corresponding to a network address associated with a server other than the server associated with the currently displayed network site is identified in the hierarchy. The transfer mechanism further including means for jumping to the network address associated with the server other than the server associated with the currently displayed network site. Program product as described. (7) The above (6), wherein the signal holding medium includes a transmission medium.
Program product described in. (8) The program product according to (6) above, wherein the signal holding medium includes a recordable medium. (9) In the Network Navigator, search engine, while searching the hierarchy of network pages displayed in the computer system interface.
A quick way to return to a network page, the steps of organizing a list of network addresses of commonly used search engines, and of network addresses accessed by said network navigator during a network navigating session. Organizing a hierarchy, scanning the hierarchy until a network address is identified in the hierarchy, corresponding to the search engine network addresses listed in the list, and the search engine network address Jumping to the network address corresponding to. (10) The hierarchy until a network address corresponding to a network address associated with a server other than the server associated with the network page displayed in the computer system interface is identified in the hierarchy. Scanning the
Jumping to the corresponding network address.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates a computer system that can be used to implement the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware environment of a computer system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a client / server architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram illustrating a client / server architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer network that can be implemented in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a hypertext document contained within a graphical user interface window and usable by the method and system of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing specific steps used to implement an apparatus and method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart generally showing the steps used to implement the apparatus and method of the present invention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a network navigator device that can be used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the steps used to implement the icon mechanism in accordance with the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the steps used to implement a knitting mechanism in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the steps used to implement a hierarchical mechanism in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing steps used to implement a scanning mechanism in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing steps used to implement a forwarding mechanism in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 computer systems 22 System Unit 24 video display terminals 31 Central Processing Unit 32 system bus 34 Random Access Memory 36 read-only memory 37 Display Adapter 39 I / O adapter 40 User Interface Adapter 49 Communication adapter 50 main memory 51 control program

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-10-260973 (JP, A) JP-A-4-354059 (JP, A) JP-A-8-263525 (JP, A) US Patent 6052716 (US, A) Software Try & Try 13th Netscape Communicator New function explanation, ASCII DOS / V ISSUE, Japan, ASCII Corporation, March 1, 1997, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 232-234 (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/30 G06F 3/00 G06F 13/00 JISST file (JOIS)

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of quick return from a current network site to a previously visited network site, comprising the step of storing a hierarchy of network addresses encountered during a current navigation session. The address hierarchy is the network address of a previously visited network site associated with a server other than the server associated with the currently displayed network site, and the previously visited network site was encountered. A network address of an intermediate network site encountered between the time point and the time point at which the current network site was encountered, and associated with the currently displayed network site in response to a user selection. Associated with a server other than the server How to scan until the network address is specified in the hierarchy of the network address, comprising the steps of jumping, a corresponding network address previously visited the. 2. The step of scanning comprises network
A backward traversal of the hierarchy of addresses identifies the last visited network site of the previous network address associated with a server other than the server associated with the address of the currently displayed network site. The method according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user selection is made by selecting an icon displayed in a graphical user interface. 4. The hierarchy of network addresses is represented by a brief description of a particular site, and when the user hovers over the description, the corresponding network address is displayed in the user interface. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that 5. A network address corresponding to a search engine network address listed in the list of search engines in response to a user selection comprising a list of search engines including at least one search engine address. The method of claim 1, comprising: scanning and jumping until specified in the hierarchy of network addresses. 6. An apparatus for quick return from a current network site to a previously visited network site, including means for storing a hierarchy of network addresses encountered during a current navigation session, said network comprising: The address hierarchy is the network address of a previously visited network site associated with a server other than the server associated with the currently displayed network site, and the previously visited network site was encountered. A network address of an intermediate network site encountered between the time point and the time point at which the current network site was encountered, and associated with the currently displayed network site in response to a user selection. Associated with a server other than the server Apparatus including a network address corresponding to a network address scans until specified by the hierarchy of the network address, means for jumping, a visited to. 7. The means for traversing traverses a hierarchy of network addresses backwards to the last visited associated with a server other than the server associated with the address of the currently displayed network site. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the network site of the previous network address is identified. 8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the user selection is made by selecting an icon displayed in a graphical user interface. 9. The hierarchy of network addresses is represented by a brief description of a particular site, and when the user hovers over the description, the corresponding network address is displayed in the user interface. 7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that 10. A network address corresponding to a search engine network address listed in the list of search engines in response to a user selection comprising a list of search engines including at least one search engine address. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, including means for scanning and jumping until specified in the hierarchy of network addresses.